DBS is for the school to consider as part of their safeguarding role. Coordinators/staff will consider the young person’s needs and whether they are particularly vulnerable because of educational / medical / behavioural / home circumstances etc. The work experience placement should also be considered in terms of the type of work, the nature of the supervision and the length of the placement. 

 

Schools and colleges are not able to request an enhanced DBS check with barred list information for staff supervising children aged 16 to 17 on work experience  

 

Cost of DBS checks – Employers are generally regarded as volunteers for the purposes of providing work placements and therefore there should be no cost for a DBS check, unless this would be a normal expectation for the job in which case employers will have to cover the costs (e.g. for staff in nurseries or care homes). https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record 

 

Further info Keeping children safe in education Dept for Education (2021) p.156-158 and Regulated activity in relation to children: scope

 

 

Duty of care – This remains with the school whilst the students are on placement, however under health and safety law (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974), work experience students are classed as employees and should be treated no differently to other people you employ. 

 

Six steps to protect new workers – HSE guidance: http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/workers/new.htm 

 

If a student doesn’t turn up - For any reason, please ensure you contact their school to confirm this. 

 

Feedback from schools is that an effective placement is one that: provides an interview experience; incorporates different areas of the company; makes the young person feel completely part of the team; gives the student a project to work on during the placement and present their work at the end; not only teaches real skills but helps students to understand the transferable skills they are learning and the importance of them e.g. communication, time-keeping, following instructions. Schools have stressed that it really helps when an employer is flexible with the students and understands that the experience is new to them. 

Perhaps consider setting the student a piece of work to review their experience / an area of the business. They could include interviewing members of staff to find out how they got to where they are today. Then end their placement with feeding back their project to their supervisor or the team! 

The Department for Education SEND Code of Practice 2015 defines special educational needs (SEN) as: “A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.”  

Many young people with SEND face multiple challenges and barriers throughout their education experience. Broad SEND groupings can be defined as:  

• communication and interaction: speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder  

• cognition and learning: specific learning difficulty, moderate or severe learning difficulty or profound and multiple learning difficulty  

• social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties: behaviour sensory and/or physical needs including visual impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI), multi-sensory impairment and physical disability (PD). 

There are 1.5 million young people with special needs in England; 1.3 million in mainstream schools and over 100,000 young people aged 13-18 in special schools. The narrative is more complex for young people with SEND. According to a Mencap study from 2017:  

• just 6% of people with learning disabilities are in employment, despite 60% wanting to and being able to be in work  

• a job is an opportunity for independence and to forge friendships 

 

As an employer, it is important to work closely with the school to understand the needs of the student. You should review your current Young Persons Risk Assessment to ensure it is still appropriate. Our H&S team can help to highlight any areas that need attention if you require a visit / would like a new visit. If you are unsure whether you could provide a suitable placement, please talk to the school coordinators and consider offering a taster for the student to help you understand what will work.  

We would advise that students are briefed that they should not post photos/comments about the placement/employer unless previously agreed. Employers should also consider briefing employees that they should not exchange personal social media IDs and / or telephone numbers with work experience students unless it is needed for the placement. 

Some employers have confidentiality agreement forms which staff are asked to sign, you are within your rights to ask students to sign this as well.